


Romeo Save Me

by roundthecherrytree



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Azula is OOC, Dramatic Love Confessions, F/F, Love Letters, One Shot, Soft Girlfriends, because she didn't have a shitty childhood, so much fluff it's crazy, the happiest ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25787047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roundthecherrytree/pseuds/roundthecherrytree
Summary: Ty Lee gets caught writing what Mrs. Kyoshi thinks is a note in class, so she has to endure the usual punishment - standing and reading it out loud. Except it's not a note, it's a love letter, and Azula's in her class.
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 146





	Romeo Save Me

Apparently they were going to have an independent work period in English today.

The class began to murmur quietly amongst each other; Mrs. Kyoshi called it an independent period, but normally she let their class get away with a little chatter. Despite how much Ty Lee desperately wanted to avoid her work, she had cheer after school until late today and she should probably just get as much as she could done now. She was just about to start spewing some nonsense about imagery in the Scarlet Ibis when Suki leaned over and whispered, “Why don’t you do it now so that you can get it over with today?”

Ty Lee looked around to make sure no one was listening, “I don’t know if I can do it. I mean talking about doing it is so easy, but once it’s out of my hands it’ll be all up to her.”

Suki gave her a gentle smile, “You know I think you’re getting yourself too worked up over this. It’s not like Azula isn’t as much of a sap as you are, even if she pretends she’s not.”

Ty Lee shushed her even though Suki was already whispering, “Don’t say her name! I swear she knows when we talk about her.” Sure enough when Ty Lee turned to look at Azula across the room, she caught golden eyes already on her. She blushed and turned away towards Suki, “See!”

Suki stared at her incredulously, “She doesn’t know when we’re talking about her, she just stares at you so much that you always catch her, and there’s certainly no way she heard us from all the way over there.”

Ty Lee knew Suki had a point - Azula and Mai had managed to get themselves moved to the complete opposite of the room from herself and Suki after they all got into a heated debate over the gay subtext of A Separate Peace – but the thought of sharing her feelings with Azula made her stressed and paranoid. Not because of Azula no, she had been nothing but a sweet, caring friend for as long as Ty Lee could remember - was she over protective at times: yes, but did it make Ty Lee’s heart race: also yes. It was because there was no going back if she did this. She would be putting it in writing, a love letter no less, and Azula could respond in so many different ways that it made Ty lee’s head spin.

She could hang it on her wall, have it framed above the fireplace in their shared home when they were married, or Azula could burn it and pretend it never happened. Suki had called her dramatic for sharing the last thought with her, but irrational fears were still fears.

Suki was right though, maybe actually writing the letter would help her feel better, Doodle and his crown of thorns would have to wait. She could probably even muster up the courage to shove it in Azula’s locker before cheer practice, that way she would be too exhausted to lose sleep over Azula’s reaction.

Actually writing the letter was easier than she expected, pouring her feelings out was simple when she had so many. After all, this was the girl who she taught to do handstands in her backyard, her savior from gross drunk boys at parties, the one who put up a tough front but cried just as hard as Ty Lee when they watched The Notebook, the one who never missed a football game to see Ty Lee cheer because she knew her parents were occupied with six other sisters even though she hated the cold and football.

She had pretty much covered everything, besides actually asking Azula out, when a hand shot into her field of view and snatched the paper.

Mrs. Kyoshi stood there expectantly, “I know I normally allow quiet chatter with people close to you, but passing notes is against the rules, you know that Ty Lee.”

Her heart hammered in her chest, “Mrs. Kyoshi you don’t understand it’s not a note.” She had to make Mrs. Kyoshi understand and fast, she knew what the punishment for passing notes was, and it was going to be humiliating.

“Ty Lee is literally says Dear Azula at the top. You know what is expected of you.”

Azula’s head had already snapped up when she heard Mrs. Kyoshi address Ty Lee, but her mouth dropped open when Mrs. Kyoshi said the note was about _her_.

With a terrified glance at Suki, Ty Lee shuffled to the front of the room with the letter clutched against her chest. She stood silently and bit her lip until Mrs. Kyoshi got impatient, “Ty Lee there’s five minutes left of class, but I will not let you wait me out.”

She was already embarrassed at being caught, so she decided he was going to end her humiliation quickly.

“Dear Azula,

We were nine and Mai had been pushed down by bullies on the playground, and even though you knew Mai could do it herself, you gave them the most impressive verbal beat down I had ever seen. My chest swelled with warmth, and all I knew from then on was that you made me feel nice.” She desperately avoided making eye contact with anyone in the class by keeping her eyes glued to the note, even as it shook in her hands.

“We were twelve and I was upset because my mom called me Ty Lat again, so you took me to the park so that we could guess the names of the dogs that walked by. I remember thinking to myself that when I got older I would want a boyfriend just like you.”

Her vision began to blur with tears, but she kept reading.

“We were fifteen when we started casually kissing each other on the cheek. It gave me the perfect excuse to be close to you. I could look at your eyes up close and your lips and your hair, and I hoped that whoever I wound up with would be as breathtaking as you are.”

“We were sixteen when I realized I was a fool. Everything I wanted was right in front of me and I sat waiting for a carbon copy of you to come around. I was in love with you when we were nine and I am in love with you now when we’re seventeen. I’ve kept my feelings for you bottled up since then, the confessions of love I’ve killed have left a graveyard behind my teeth, but today I resurrect all of them and give them a proper burial in this letter to you.”

That was it. She hadn’t gotten the chance to actually ask Azula out before she got caught, so there were two choices now – she could end her suffering right now and go sit with Suki for the last minute, or she could finish what she started. Glances to Mai and Suki, definitely NOT Azula, gave her the courage to finish.

“We’re seventeen now and I stand here in front of our English class asking you to love me back.”

She timed it just right, as she finished the bell rang. She threw the note on Mrs. Kyoshi’s desk, grabbed her stuff from her seat, and bolted out of the classroom.

Azula did nothing but sit there like an idiot. Mai’s hand on her shoulder broke her out of her reverie, “I know that was a lot, but you can’t sit here for the rest of the day.” Mrs. Kyoshi called out her name before she made it out the door, “Here take this,” she handed Azula the letter, “please tell Ty Lee I am so sorry and, of course, good luck Azula. You guys remind me of my wife and I when we were younger.”

Azula was determined now, this was _her_ The Notebook and she would be damned if it didn’t have a happy ending. “Thank you Mrs. Kyoshi.”

Ty Lee managed to avoid her for the rest of the school day, but Azula was not letting her get out of this.

There were several times in Ty lee’s life where she absolutely terrified – when the nasty dog on her block chased her up a tree, or that time she thought she burned a huge chunk of her hair off with her staightener, hell this morning’s English class was certainly up there – but nothing would’ve prepared her for the bone chilling sight of Azula sitting on the school’s front steps when she finally left cheer practice. The sun was setting so prettily behind her and the orange hues made her normally dark hair look like it was on fire, but Ty Lee couldn’t handle this right now or maybe ever.

“You waited out here for hours just to reject me huh.”

Azula stood up from the step she was sitting on and began walking towards her. “Not hours, I drove around with Mai for a bit, but she got tired and went home, and I am certainly not here to reject you Ty.” And with that she took Ty Lee’s hand and pulled her closer until they were flush against each other, “I’m here to tell you that I’m seventeen and I’m also standing here asking you to love me back.” She moved her hand to tilt Ty Lee’s chin up and kissed her in front of the fiery sunset.

Maybe Ty Lee had been dramatic about Azula burning the letter, but she was right about them hanging it above the fireplace in their home when they were married.

**Author's Note:**

> I modified the graveyard line from another fic I read, I’m still trying to find the author to give them credit, but I couldn’t wait to post this!


End file.
